How much is 100GB of data and do I need more than that?

Contents list Introduction What can I do with 100GB of data? How can I track my data use? Can I reduce my data use? Should you have more than 100GB of data?

Introduction

These days, the most important factor to look at when you’re shopping for a pay-as-you-go or contract phone plan, is the amount of data it comes with. After all, most phone plans now include basic features like unlimited calls and texts as standard. Your data usage is what determines whether your bill will go up or down in price.

The more data you can access per month, the more scope you’ll have to download movies, listen to music, and even enjoy video conferences with friends. But how much data is enough? At a glance, 100GB of data seems like a huge amount, but what does it actually equate to when you’re using your phone? Let’s find out.

How long does 100GB of data last?

How many hours will 100GB last?
Internet browsing	1,000 hours+
Music Listening	13,000 hours+ depending on quality
Watching video	Around 34-600 hours, depending on quality
Browsing social media	Around 1,000 hours scrolling
Using Facetime, Skype, or WhatsApp	Around 110-840 hours

100MB of data gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to using your phone for internet connected activities. You should be able to spend as many hours as you like browsing social media and the web with this much data. Plus, you shouldn’t have any trouble listening to music and watching videos using their highest quality settings.

Ofcom’s Communications Market Report for 2024 found people use 9.9GB of monthly mobile data in the UK. However, data consumption does vary from one vendor to the next. For instance, Three suggests their customers used around 30.5GB of data each month on average during the first half of 2024. But even if you’re relying on your phone for many data-intensive activities, most people should be fine with 100GB of data.

Internet browsing

Normal internet browsing
100GB of Data	Around 1,000 hours (34,000 web pages)

100GB of data is the same as 102,400 megabytes of data. If you use your phone mostly to browse through web pages and conduct Google searches, 100GB of data could be enough to allow you to browse pretty much all day every day without an issue. A single web page typically consumes less than 3MB of data, so 100GB will give you access to over 34,000 pages, or around 1,000 hours of browsing.

Audio data

Songs streamed on Spotify
100GB of data	Around 13,800+ songs

Browsing the web doesn’t consume a lot of data, but downloading and accessing audio content is a different story. The amount of data you use when you’re listening to songs on Spotify, YouTube, or another internet-connected app will depend on a number of things, including the size of the file, the audio quality you choose, and your platform.

As an example, Spotify consumes around 2.4MB of data every minute to stream a song at the highest quality (320kbps). A single 3-minute song adds up to around 7.2MB of data. That means if you’re listening to your music in the highest quality, you can stream around 13,800 tracks with 100GB.

Reducing the quality of your audio also reduces its data consumption. For instance, a 3-minute track streamed at 96kbps will only use around 2.16MB in total. This means you could listen to around 47,000 songs at a lower quality with 100GB of data.

Video data

Netflix video streaming (on phone)
100GB of data	Around 17-300 Netflix films

Steaming video is a lot more data-intensive than listening to music alone, as you need to be able to load both images and audio at the same time. However, the amount of data used for each video will still depend on the size of the file, the streaming service, and your choice of quality.

Netflix suggests the average person can watch 4 hours of content for every 1GB of data when they choose the ‘Automatic’ quality setting. This would suggest 100GB of data can give you up to 400 hours of content, or allow you to watch 200 two-hour films. If you switch to data-saver mode on Netflix, you can increase your streaming to 6 hours for every 1GB. This equates toa round 600 hours of video, or 300 two-hour movies.

On the other hand, if you want to stream in the highest possible quality, Netflix will use 1GB or more every 20 minutes, cutting you down to just 17 two-hour movies.

YouTube videos are a little different. You can get up to 50 hours of content from YouTube with 100GB of data, streaming at 1080p, or up to 33 hours if you’re streaming in 4K – though actual data use per hour is variable, so you may get less.

Social media data

Social media use examples for 30GB of data
Social media browsing	Around 1,000 hours
WhatsApp video calls	Around 110-680 hours of chat time
FaceTime video calls	Around 270-840 hours of chat time
Photos on WhatsApp	100,000+ photos

Many of us use our smartphones to interact with others and view content on social media. The amount of data you use when accessing a social media app will vary depending on which platforms you use, and how you use them. With 100GB of data, you can browse a social platform for around 1,000 hours – though the exact amount of time will depend on the platform.

If you’re using social apps for video calls, then you’ll be consuming a lot more data. On WhatsApp, video calls will use anywhere from around 2.5MB to 15MB of data per minute, or 150MB to 900MB per hour, so you can chat for between around 110 hours and 680 hours with 100GB. But some other platforms such as Skype and FaceTime are a bit more efficient, with the latter typically using between 120MB and 380MB per hour, so your data will go a little further there.

If you’re sending photos through social media, the number of images you can send will depend on how the platform compresses the image. Most tools like WhatsApp compress images to no more than 1MB, so you can potentially send 100,000 or more photos.

How can I see my data use?

If you’re concerned that 100GB of data may be too much or too little for your needs, it’s worth taking a look at your current data usage. You can typically do this by checking your mobile network account online or on their app.

Checking your data usage should tell you whether you can reduce the cost of your monthly plan by opting for less data.

Can I save on data use?

If you have 100GB of data, you shouldn’t have to be too frugal with how you use it. Even if you’re viewing videos in 4K, you’ll be able to watch for a good 30+ hours before you run out. However, reducing your data use can be a good way to save money, as it could allow you to switch to a cheaper plan.

There are a few ways to cut your data usage. For instance, you could use Wi-Fi connections whenever possible, so you’re not reliant on your mobile network connection. It’s also worth looking for ‘Data Saver’ options on the apps you regularly use.

Some apps will even allow you to automatically switch the quality of your content when you’re on a mobile connection to a lower level, then turn it back up to full when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. You can also consider downloading content you want to view while you’re on Wi-Fi, so you can access it in ‘offline’ mode later.

Should I have more than 100GB of data?

The reality is most people won’t need more than 100GB of data. 100GB of data can go a long way if you’re using your smartphone for basic activities like checking social media or browsing the internet. It’s also plenty of data for making video calls, watching content, or listening to music.

However, if you use particularly data-intensive apps, you may find that 100GB is still not enough. In this case, you might consider upgrading to an unlimited plan, so you don’t have to worry about data consumption at all. If you’re using less than 100GB of data regularly, you could also downgrade to a cheaper plan to save some extra cash.